This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention. The following discussion is intended to provide information to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that statements in the following discussion are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Deep diving activities for science were carried out between 2002 and 2010 in the Bahamas as part of a ‘Bahama Deep’ initiative by Lombardi. Working dives were conducted to 450 feet of sea water (fsw) which required extensive decompression, on the order of several hours at the 20 fsw decompression stop alone before surfacing. This unproductive time was cause for developing a means to remove the diver from the unproductive environment and place him in a productive one. A portable inflatable habitat was developed for this purpose and deployed in 2012. The system was deployed for 72 consecutive hours and was utilized during two dives and resulted in a development path to continue to harness the potential of this new technology.
A second generation system was developed and deployed in Hong Kong in 2015. The emphasis of this system was to create functional space within the underwater environment that is readily deployable beneath floating stock and serves as a dependent means of life support for the occupant. This system was deployed for 48 consecutive hours and supported short visits by several student researchers over a 3 hour period.
Previous development efforts in underwater habitation have focused on large, permanent structures. These ‘Man in the Sea’ programs from the 1960's and 1970's are all but vanished due to several reasons including massive infrastructure required for deployment and operation, and significant expense. In fact, the US' only undersea habitat dedicated to science—NOAA's Aquarius—had recently faced imminent shutdown with the cut of its $3 million dollar annual budget. The project has since been reconstituted by Florida Atlantic University but continues to struggle with financial sustainability.
The prior art self-contained underwater breathing apparatus provides for about 8 hours of life support. This time is used for the cumulative bottom and decompression phases of the dive.